There is a continual failure to address the growing needs of the Pasifika community where the median wage has fallen $64 dollars a week from $455 when National took office to $381. Pacific people have also got an unemployment rate of 13%.

It may not have been a 'slash and burn' budget like the one delivered to Australia (English's budget had a few trinkets and baubles), BUT the real issues of poverty, our degrading environment, ethnic marginalization and the housing shortage were not really addressed.

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There's a couple of things that I'd like to say were sleight of hand, but that would be far too charitable.First there was the $500m reduction in contributions towards the Christchurch rebuild. Mysteriously it occurred at pretty much the same time as CCC found, according to the Korda Mentha report, a $500m shortfall in their budget. Coincidence, of course.Then there was the $375m for even more roads in Auckland. Miraculously it's $3m more than the surplus announced, and it's stated to be a loan. Only by making it a loan can National put it on the books as an asset and say "we made it to surplus". Behaviour like that is sailing dangerously close to being fraud.

Quite right, AC, this budget is just a huge accounting exercise of shifting figures around to get the result they wanted. Close to fraud, but 'slight of hand' may still be a better way of describing it, as it is really just an illusion of a surplus.

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